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Over the weekend I decided to tear up the carpeting in my guest bedroom. When I sampled a small section the floor was beautiful so up came the carpet, got half way through tearing up when i discovered the floors were not beautiful but just a big mess. Since I had already torn up half the carpet I decided to just bite the bullet and take it all up to reveal one big mess right smack in the center of the room. The floor boards are MUCH darker in the center of the room and gets lighter towards the walls. After washing the floors 4 times not much has changed. It actually looks like the previous owners tried staining the flooring without sanding because each time i rinsed the mop it looked like stain was coming off the sponge.
I'm wondering if it is in fact stain on the floor is there a way to get it up without having the sand the floor? a product I can use on the floor maybe, like a stripper?
Stain goes on the floor BEFORE the final finish is applied. So if the finish is in good shape, it's doubtful if you are removing stain. It's possible that something was spilled and not cleaned up too well before the carpeting was installed.
Your best bet might be to call a floor refinisher to come and make an estimate of what needs to be done. If it is stain, then perhaps the easiest thing would be to stain the rest of the floor. Sanding down to remove all of the stain, might be impossible.
Stain goes on the floor BEFORE the final finish is applied. So if the finish is in good shape, it's doubtful if you are removing stain. It's possible that something was spilled and not cleaned up too well before the carpeting was installed.
Your best bet might be to call a floor refinisher to come and make an estimate of what needs to be done. If it is stain, then perhaps the easiest thing would be to stain the rest of the floor. Sanding down to remove all of the stain, might be impossible.
I'm wondering if the final finish was never put on because the floor is still somewhat tacky which made me think it was stain and the fact that it's in a pretty big area (i believe the room is 10x10 and the dark "color" is in the middle of the room (1/4 of the room maybe).
It wouldn't surprise me if the previous owners did try to stain the floor without sanding and then when it wasn't working decided to carpet over the work. As we update our home we're finding out the previous owners did hack jobs on certain things. Like instead of buying the correct bolts for the toilet they used whatever screw was handy to "fix" whatever problem they had with the toilet.
Back to the floor I was under the impression you were supposed to sand the floor first then stain then finish. Is it possible to stain and finish a floor without sanding it first?
It might be possible to stain without sanding, but I don't think you will get as good, even finish. Sanding does more than just smooth. It also gets rid of bumps and hard to remove crud.
Sanding is not hard, for a room that size, you should be able to rent a sander. Is the floor the old fashioned tongue and groove boards? It could easily be sanded. But for a small room like that, I'd hire it done. Much quicker because they would have the sanders and heavy duty vacuums that won't spread the dust all over your house.
You mentioned that it's "tacky" feeling. You really MUST get whatever that is up or you won't get a finish to stick well. That would give you Big Problems!
It might be possible to stain without sanding, but I don't think you will get as good, even finish. Sanding does more than just smooth. It also gets rid of bumps and hard to remove crud.
Sanding is not hard, for a room that size, you should be able to rent a sander. Is the floor the old fashioned tongue and groove boards? It could easily be sanded. But for a small room like that, I'd hire it done. Much quicker because they would have the sanders and heavy duty vacuums that won't spread the dust all over your house.
You mentioned that it's "tacky" feeling. You really MUST get whatever that is up or you won't get a finish to stick well. That would give you Big Problems!
The stuff is the color of molasses. When I get home tonight i'm going to see if it's still tacky. maybe the carpeting kept it from drying completely. who knows but i guess i'll just bite the bullet and hire someone. we're hoping to put it on the market so i don't want the floors looking crappy. I'm not sure if the floors are tongue and groove. The house was built in '58. thanks for your help.
Sounds like a typical stain patch - the previous owners tried to stain it and abandoned the project.
As Padgett suggested above, consult a good floor company for an estimate.
When you refinish real hardwood floors it is AMAZING at how much better they can look ! They can potentially be refinished to the condition they were when they were first installed.
Refinish them - you will love it and it will be a great investement for the home . Figure an amount in the range of $2-$4 per square foot for a full refinishing job (well worth it in my book....this is a big job).
p.s. Depending on the age of the home, you might be in a position to choose between a poly or a wax finish. The wax finish is a higher maintenance finish but can be more appropriate to certain style/age homes and it allows the wood to breathe - see what your floor company recommends is best for your home.
Sounds like a typical stain patch - the previous owners tried to stain it and abandoned the project.
As Padgett suggested above, consult a good floor company for an estimate.
When you refinish real hardwood floors it is AMAZING at how much better they can look ! They can potentially be refinished to the condition they were when they were first installed.
Refinish them - you will love it and it will be a great investement for the home . Figure an amount in the range of $2-$4 per square foot for a full refinishing job (well worth it in my book....this is a big job).
p.s. Depending on the age of the home, you might be in a position to choose between a poly or a wax finish. The wax finish is a higher maintenance finish but can be more appropriate to certain style/age homes and it allows the wood to breathe - see what your floor company recommends is best for your home.
Stain patch is what it is and I'm not surprised the previous owners abandoned it (they abandoned a lot of little stuff like this). $2-4 per sf isn't bad at all. I was thinking it would cost us a over $1000 to have it done. The house was built in '58, probably just go with poly on the floors. i would think wax would be better for old wide plank flooring which mine are not (wish they were). thank you for your suggestions and help. will definitely hire someone for this project.
When you say full refinish what exactly do you mean? Reason for my question is my living room is also hardwood and while it's in MUCh better condition I'm thinking it would make sense to have them finished (or something to make them shine) before we put our home on the market.
Yep, while you are getting an estimate, let him give you one on the living room too. It may surprise you. It's difficult to join the two without having a "line" where the two meet. I think it would make your house easier to sell if both rooms were done.
Yep, while you are getting an estimate, let him give you one on the living room too. It may surprise you. It's difficult to join the two without having a "line" where the two meet. I think it would make your house easier to sell if both rooms were done.
Honestly I'd love to have all my rooms with hardwoods refinished (all three bedrooms have hardwood and they are all off my hallway which is hardwood as well) but not sure if dh will go for it. The living room is the only room not off the hallway. We're looking to relocate, i'm hoping when dh finds a job we can do all this stuff and then put the house on the market.
The floor company will leave it up to you of course, but they generally like to do all continuous floors for obvious reasons.
By fully refinished, I mean have them sand all the floors, stain (you can use a really natural, light color stain...this would be a good neutral if you're going to put the house on the market), and then seal (poly/wax).
There are new polyurethanes that leave a more subtle finish (looks more like a natural wax finish).
The downside is you'll have to get all your furniture out of the way, and you might have to move out for a few days while they do the floors.
If you decide not to do the full refinish, there are usually other options (w/o sanding, for example), but the potential homebuyer will love you for it if the floors were just redone and you can really show off the floors - it could be a great selling point.
I did a house a couple of years ago (it was 10 years older than yours) and I went with wax because the house was off-grade and for other reasons, but I think the majority of people go with poly.
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! They can potentially be refinished to the condition they were when they were first installed.
. Figure an amount in the range of $2-$4 per square foot for a full refinishing job (well worth it in my book....this is a big job).
